SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021

SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021
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SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021

SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021SkyEarth 2021: October 7-12, 2021
Home
About SkyEarth Events
Classes & Instructors
More
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  • About SkyEarth Events
  • Classes & Instructors
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  • About SkyEarth Events
  • Classes & Instructors

Classes offered at the 2020 Gathering

Primitive

Primitive

Primitive

  • Bow Making and Archery
  • Blow Guns, Darts
  • Javelins and Atlatls
  • Pottery Making
  • Hide Tanning
  • Flint Knapping
  • Agave Quivers
  • Yucca Sandals


Earth

Primitive

Primitive

  • Edible Plants
  • Herbal Plants
  • Friction Fire
  • Water Witching / Dowsing
  • Dairy Goat Husbandry
  • Pine Pitch Glue
  • Turning Gourds into Bowls/Plates

Skills

Primitive

Skills

  • Felting Wool
  • Animal Processing
  • Navigation
  • Soap Making
  • Cheese Making
  • Lashings & Camp Chairs
  • Fly Casting (fishing)

2020 Instructors

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Doug Householder

Doug Householder

Doug Householder

"Arkansas Doug" Householder has trained in and taught survival from the tropic jungles of South America and Hawaii to the Sonoran Desert but calls the Ozark Mountains home. 

He is a highly skilled outdoorsman who teaches at top survival schools. You may recognize him as founder of Earth Trekker Bushcraft.

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Bob Brooks

Doug Householder

Doug Householder

Bob is an experience bow maker and will be teaching archery, bow-making, and fly-casting for beginners. His archery and bow-making classes will be tailored to fit the level and desired subject of the students. 


If you have a bow in progress, Bob encourages you to bring it to SkyEarth and he will help you pick up and continue wherever you are in the process.

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Chris Hyde

Doug Householder

Kristina Tourtillott

Born and raised in Texas, Chris has spent his whole life wandering and exploring the wild places. Fishing along the coast in Corpus Christi, hiking the trails of State Parks across Texas, exploring the piney woods of Big Thicket and discovering all that nature offered as mysteries along the way. After high school Chris traveled across the

Born and raised in Texas, Chris has spent his whole life wandering and exploring the wild places. Fishing along the coast in Corpus Christi, hiking the trails of State Parks across Texas, exploring the piney woods of Big Thicket and discovering all that nature offered as mysteries along the way. After high school Chris traveled across the country taking classes from dozens of different outdoor schools that focused on modern, native and traditional skills of living, as well as leadership, homesteading and permaculture. Beginning in 2009 Chris began working in environmental education for youth and adults teaching outdoor leadership skills, archery, bow making, wildlife tracking, edible plants and survival skills. In 2014 Chris opened Natureversity to help homeschool communities around Austin and Dripping Springs reconnect with nature through the practice of hands-on and passion-led learning while being outside. He lives in Austin Texas, he enjoys traveling to new locations in Texas, making bows and arrows, primitive hunting, fishing and tracking wildlife. 

Chris will be leading our children's education component of SkyEarth.

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Kristina Tourtillott

Kristina Tourtillott

Kristina Tourtillott

When Kristina first learned of primitive skills her world drastically changed. A closer walk with nature produced a remarkable life change; she left behind a toxic diet and lifestyle, causing her weight to drop and energy levels to soar! Since that time, she has attended several survival schools and gatherings. She has studied wild edible

When Kristina first learned of primitive skills her world drastically changed. A closer walk with nature produced a remarkable life change; she left behind a toxic diet and lifestyle, causing her weight to drop and energy levels to soar! Since that time, she has attended several survival schools and gatherings. She has studied wild edibles and natural medicines which are skills she utilizes on her many outdoor adventures. Kristina has taught wild edibles at multiple survival schools.  Still a student of the natural world herself, she is always excited to share her passion with others. 

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Tony Pike

Kristina Tourtillott

Justin Miller

 Tony Pike is the founder of Ancient Wisdom Survival School and has been teaching survival skills for over two decades. He grew up in a family that lived a lifestyle of self-reliance, a fact he directly attributes to his intense passion for thriving in a minimalist environment. His father challenged him every day, testing his resolve, som

 Tony Pike is the founder of Ancient Wisdom Survival School and has been teaching survival skills for over two decades. He grew up in a family that lived a lifestyle of self-reliance, a fact he directly attributes to his intense passion for thriving in a minimalist environment. His father challenged him every day, testing his resolve, something he explains was crucial to the mental resolve needed to survive challenging situations and created the drive to become a nationally ranked power lifter. Because of this self reliant lifestyle he soon developed a deep respect for the ways of the Native Americans' ability to live off the land. 


The youngest of 5 siblings, Tony helped his dad trap, hunt, and fish from a very early age, and takes pride in the fact that he helped feed his family as a young boy. He found his first arrow head at age 7, at which time he became fascinated by seeing how such beautiful creations could be crafted from simple rocks. He went on to explore many primitive skills from that point in his childhood until today. Much of his free time is spent with experimental and amateur archeology.

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Justin Miller

Kristina Tourtillott

Justin Miller

 Justin Miller will be teaching brain tanning of deer hides to make buckskin at SkyEarth this year! He was born and raised in Henderson County TX. Since he was a he’s had an interest in the ways and skills of our ancestors. Skills like blacksmithing, brain and bark tanning skins, cordage making, primitive fire making etc. The first primit

 Justin Miller will be teaching brain tanning of deer hides to make buckskin at SkyEarth this year! He was born and raised in Henderson County TX. Since he was a he’s had an interest in the ways and skills of our ancestors. Skills like blacksmithing, brain and bark tanning skins, cordage making, primitive fire making etc. The first primitive skill he ever learned was cordage making and it blossomed into more or less an obsession to learn the skills that kept our ancestors alive to make us who we are today. 

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David Van Hook

David Van Hook

David Van Hook

Dave Van Hook - aka "Dirty Dave" - has been cold process soap making for over 20 years. For the last seven years he has been teaching hot process soap making at gatherings. 

With a background in project and manufacturing supervision, he started soap making as a hobby in the 90s for family and friends. He began taking it seriously in 2008 w

Dave Van Hook - aka "Dirty Dave" - has been cold process soap making for over 20 years. For the last seven years he has been teaching hot process soap making at gatherings. 

With a background in project and manufacturing supervision, he started soap making as a hobby in the 90s for family and friends. He began taking it seriously in 2008 when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, realizing that what we put ON our bodies is as important as what we put IN them.  

His first gathering was Winter Count just nine short months following a bone marrow transplant. He attributes much of his recovery from that ordeal to the culture and community of Primitive Skills Gatherings.

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Kiowa Sage

David Van Hook

David Van Hook

Kiowa Sage is a specialist in indigenous pottery craft, primarily originating in the Southwest. He digs his own wild clays and makes his own plant paints and tools from nature. All his pottery is fired outside in a fire pit using prehistoric/traditional techniques.
Kiowa teaches indigenous pottery at local museums, events, private classes

Kiowa Sage is a specialist in indigenous pottery craft, primarily originating in the Southwest. He digs his own wild clays and makes his own plant paints and tools from nature. All his pottery is fired outside in a fire pit using prehistoric/traditional techniques.
Kiowa teaches indigenous pottery at local museums, events, private classes, as well as Wintercount Rendezvous and now SkyEarth Gathering.

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Matt Ottaberry

David Van Hook

Naomi Smith-Wade

Matt's primitive skills background started like most as a kid.  He was lucky enough to grow up out in the country and spent all his summers running wild - fishing, hunting, and building shelters (forts in the woods).  When he was 19 he was introduced to archery and spent the next 10 plus years bowhunting everything possible.  His favorite

Matt's primitive skills background started like most as a kid.  He was lucky enough to grow up out in the country and spent all his summers running wild - fishing, hunting, and building shelters (forts in the woods).  When he was 19 he was introduced to archery and spent the next 10 plus years bowhunting everything possible.  His favorite time of the year has always been September in the mountains chasing elk.  Around 2012 he heard about the Rabbitstick gathering in Idaho.   In 2018 he made the long trip and it changed him for good.   Now September is spent in Idaho not elk hunting.  The skills and community he found there are 2nd to none.  Since that trip he's been to seven other gatherings.  He looks forward to teaching and learning new skills at SkyEarth this year.  Some of his favorite skills are fire, camp crafts, atlatls, and knife making.

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Naomi Smith-Wade

Naomi Smith-Wade

Naomi Smith-Wade

Naomi will be teaching students to felt wool into bags at SkyEarth.


 Naomi first studied the art of felting with Rosemary Wells who has taught felting at past gatherings. Since then she has taught at multiple gatherings such as Wintercount, Fire to Fire, and Between the Rivers.  Gatherings are where she has found her tribe and she loves being able to share, earn and grow with fellow gatherers. 

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Phillip Liebel

Naomi Smith-Wade

Phillip Liebel

Largely inspired by his Native American heritage, Phil spends a lot of time in the wild with minimal gear to further his connection with nature. He is the owner and lead instructor of “Primitive Wilderness Survival” and teaches the primitive portion of the Pathfinder instructor course. He has taught alongside and learned from many of the 

Largely inspired by his Native American heritage, Phil spends a lot of time in the wild with minimal gear to further his connection with nature. He is the owner and lead instructor of “Primitive Wilderness Survival” and teaches the primitive portion of the Pathfinder instructor course. He has taught alongside and learned from many of the greatest instructors on the planet and put his skills to the test in the Canadian Arctic for a month on the show Alone: The Beast. 

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Lacey Proffitt

Naomi Smith-Wade

Phillip Liebel

 

Lacey Proffitt is the part-time Agriculture Lead at Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms, a living history museum showcasing 1800s living in central Texas. Always attracted to the outdoors, she has been fascinated by the interactions and connectivity in natural systems which led her to study biology and the natural sciences in college. She uses

 

Lacey Proffitt is the part-time Agriculture Lead at Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms, a living history museum showcasing 1800s living in central Texas. Always attracted to the outdoors, she has been fascinated by the interactions and connectivity in natural systems which led her to study biology and the natural sciences in college. She uses this background as well as her Permaculture Design Certificate and study of Holistic Management to create thriving agricultural systems at Pioneer Farms. Her “day job” is running Full Tank Coaching where she coaches individuals toward creating and fulfilling their life’s vision as well as acting as a consultant for businesses on strategic planning and project pursuits.   

This blend of left brain and right brain utilization has given her a natural talent for “water witching” or dowsing. While still new to the craft, she can’t seem to stop herself from dowsing just about any question or object that comes to mind. Can’t find the car keys? Grab the dowsing rods! Wondering where a bee hive is? Grab the dowsing rods! Looking for water lines in the backyard? Grab those dowsing rods! At SkyEarth she’ll give an introduction to water witching and show attendees how to use their own innate subconscious for the craft on their own. 

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Scott Connery

Scott Connery

Scott Connery

Scott has owned goats since 2007. His high water mark was having an AGA registered herd with 16 goats counting the kids. He is experienced with general husbandry, milking, and cheese making.  Today he is in charge of a children’s livestock program teaching children from the ages of 3-14 about how to work with goats.

At SkyEarth he will be 

Scott has owned goats since 2007. His high water mark was having an AGA registered herd with 16 goats counting the kids. He is experienced with general husbandry, milking, and cheese making.  Today he is in charge of a children’s livestock program teaching children from the ages of 3-14 about how to work with goats.

At SkyEarth he will be teaching:

  • Breed selection 
  • Site prep before you get them
  • Expenses
  • Milking
  • Cheese production

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Susan Jeffay

Scott Connery

Scott Connery

Soapy Su's first interest in primitive skills was as a child reading a book on the Lenape Indians of New Jersey, where she grew up. It always rained on her drying pottery and the bows she made from the privet hedge never shot straight. Still she continued to try and expand her skills which only increased after attending Wintercount in 200

Soapy Su's first interest in primitive skills was as a child reading a book on the Lenape Indians of New Jersey, where she grew up. It always rained on her drying pottery and the bows she made from the privet hedge never shot straight. Still she continued to try and expand her skills which only increased after attending Wintercount in 2002.


 She was a wilderness leader for summer backpacking expedition programs throughout the Southwest, integrating primitive skill basics in all her courses. In winter, she was a teacher of the deaf where she set up and managed the outdoor education programs and brought hands-on skills and demonstrations into the classroom to supplement student’s comprehension of history.


  After retiring, she and Dave Van Hook, an accomplished soap-maker, have taught soap-making at multiple gatherings as well as at home.

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TJ Fabby

Scott Connery

Will Dobkins

 TJ is a life-long resident of Ellis County and he has owned Liberty Tree Service for over ten years. TJ is an arborist by trade and an avid plantsman and gardener in his free time. He is especially knowledgeable about native Texas plants and edible/useful plants and will be teaching our plant identification class at SkyEarth.

TJ and his f

 TJ is a life-long resident of Ellis County and he has owned Liberty Tree Service for over ten years. TJ is an arborist by trade and an avid plantsman and gardener in his free time. He is especially knowledgeable about native Texas plants and edible/useful plants and will be teaching our plant identification class at SkyEarth.

TJ and his family live in Waxahachie Texas where they grow all kinds of edible plants in the garden and in the landscape. 

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Will Dobkins

Krissy Voutas

Will Dobkins

Will is a blacksmith, tool maker, writer and public speaker. He lives in rural southern Missouri and enjoys a self sufficient lifestyle. He strives to build a life he doesn't need a vacation from. 


Will is teaching our blacksmithing classes at SkyEarth. Join us no matter your prior experience!

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Krissy Voutas

Krissy Voutas

Krissy Voutas

Krissy is our camp cook keeping our instructors fed during SkyEarth. We couldn't do it without her.


Krissy and her husband run Farmstead 42, and provide locally grown and made produce and products in central Texas, east of Austin.

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